Vegas, Baby!
by SageK
Summary: Prompt: Killer Heels


When a ping came up in Las Vegas, Artie had sent Claudia and Steve to retrieve the Artifact that was causing the issue. After a brief investigation, they realized all the odd occurrences surrounded the upcoming opening of a TV and Movie themed club. All of the brochures listed dozens of film and television props as star attractions and one of them rang a bell.

Random people associated with the club had begun attacking friends and family with swords and the club, Silver Screens, boasted owning one of Errol Flynn's swords…and also an original lightsaber from Star Wars, but they were willing to bet on the culprit being the actual sword.

The problem was getting at it. The whole club was locked down until the grand opening, which was only a few hours away. After a bit of brainstorming, they decided the simplest thing would be to go to the opening, find the sword and stuff it into an air vent. It would be difficult to sneak out carrying the long blade, but Claudia knew she could rig up a remote controlled car with a grabby claw and they could drop it into a roof vent later and let it retrieve sword.

Okay, so it was a little convoluted, but it would be better than attracting a lot of negative attention by trying to walk out with the sword..

It took Claudia only a minute to hack in and add their names to the guest list...far less time than it took for them to dress the part of people who would be invited to a trendy club opening.

"Oh. My. God. How do people wear these every day?"

Steve glanced at Claudia, who was clutching his arm and trying not to squirm in her bandage dress and high, strapping heels. "I imagine very uncomfortably."

"A simple snag and bag, my perky rear end," she groused, then slapped his chest. "How come you get to wear normal clothes and I get to play undercover Barbie?"

Steve picked at the stomach of his overly tight shirt. "These definitely aren't my normal clothes! This t-shirt cost more than my favorite jacket. I just bought what Leena told me to, same as you."

"Well, we do look kinda amazing," Claudia murmured. "Okay, showtime."

Affecting an air of bored disinterest, they approached the door, circumventing the line of beautiful, young hopefuls, heading for the VIP line.

The bouncer, who was basically a 6'6" muscle, checked his list, and then waved him into the dimly lit club.

Music pounded from the hidden speakers and several screens by the bar were active with movies or TV shows.

All around them were beautiful, young people, debutants, actresses and lots of reality TV stars, lounging, drinking and dancing.

"I think that's one of the Kardashians," Claudia whispered, nodding over to what was clearly a VIP alcove.

Giving the booth a half-interested glance, Steve thought she might be right, but his focus was on scanning the array of props mounted on the walls. The most prominent ones on display were those from recent movies, things that would appeal to the young clientele.

"Let's do a little recon," he said, catching Claudia around the waist as someone jostled her and nearly sent her toppling off of her ridiculously high Betsy Johnson heels. "Just hang on and stagger. You'll help us blend in."

"So funny," she replied sarcastically, but held on as he recommended. As predicted, they looked like quite a few other couples, most of whom were already drunker than they should have been only an hour after the club opened.

They circled the room and Steve tried not to notice the variety of illicit substances people were popping and snorting. Gritting his teeth, he told himself he should be thankful no one was shooting up in plain sight.

As they passed a full uniform from the movie _Major League_, Claudia said, "Pete would love this place!"

That was probably true. And, truth be told, if he wasn't here looking for a dangerous artifact that caused people to shish kebab innocent civilians, he might have enjoyed the place too. The music wasn't bad and the alcohol was clearly strong.

Maybe, after they secured the sword, they could hang around for a bit. Univille didn't have much in the way of nightlife, not that their jobs left them much time to socialize.

Not that drunk celebutants and roided up meatheads were his preferred crowd, but they could people watch and, if Claudia ditched the heels, maybe dance a bit.

But for now… "Bingo."

Flynn's Sword was hanging on the wall in the small hall outside the bathroom. Clearly, the management had no respect for the classics. It was an insult to classic cinema, but it did make their jobs substantiallyeasier.

"Kill the cameras," Steve murmured and Claudia twisted a knob on a small box in her bag, knocking out all the security cameras in the place.

With practiced movements, she pulled the sword down, wrapping it in a neutralizer bag she carried in

her tiny purse. While she did that, Steve pulled the fake blade from where it had been concealed at his hip, under his slacks. From out of the same purse (seriously, one of these days he was going to ask her how women fit so many things into their bags, like the bottomless trunks in Harry Potter), Claudia handed him the grip and guard and he attached them to the blade, slapping the replica back up on the wall just as a drunk couple stumbled into the bathroom.

Five minutes later and the sword was safely stored in the ventilation system, just waiting for them to come back and retrieve it. Relieved that the hard part was over and knowing they wouldn't be able to return for the Artifact until the morning, say around 8am, when everyone who worked here would be sleeping, he turned to Claudia. "Wanna stay for a while or head back to the hotel?"

"I could stay…If you buy me a beer to help ease the pain in my feet," she said shrewdly and he looked down, regarding the shoes.

They were really high. "One beer," he agreed, figuring it couldn't hurt any. She'd be 21 in a few months anyhow.

She grinned happily. "Look at you, living on the wild side," she teased and he helped her hobble over to an empty table. It was a close call, getting there before a pack of roaming kids who looked too young to be in here (though they stank of money, which explained their presence) laid claim to it. Luckily, at least one of them caught the look Steve was giving them and diverted the rest of his friends.

It would have sucked to have had to get into the whole Alpha male posturing pissing contest that would have been necessary had they taken the table. He would have won with little effort, but that sort of thing was always annoying and Claudia really wanted to sit down.

By the time he got back with their beers, she had kicked off the evil heels and had her feet up on the seat. Sliding in beside her, he looked at the red marks where the footwear had bitten into her and winced in sympathy. She hissed when he pressed the cool bottles on her toes, but after a moment let out a big sigh.

"Okay, plan," he said, noting that she was bopping to the music, but clearly didn't want to walk on her sore feet quite yet. "Your 21st, you and me, New York City. I know the best club and they don't require anyone wear crippling heels."

She grinned. "Sounds great…Oh, I should have asked you to get me a Jello Shot! I always wanted to try one!"

"Considering you just took one sip beer before making a face and using it as an ice pack, I'd say hold off on the liquor. At least until you're legal," he chuckled, causing her to mock pout at him.

"Fine," she replied, "But fair warning, I like adventure. You may have to pour me back into my hotel room in New York."

Steve grinned. "I can handle that. Just remember, liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Beer before liquor, never sicker."

Playfully smirking, Claudia replied, "C'mon Jinksie, live on the wild side…and wow, he's cute."

Following her gaze, Steve considered the neo hipster type Claudia was eyeing and nodded. "Not bad," he agreed, taking another drink as he heard the Farnsworth buzzing in Claudia's purse.

As one, they glanced at the small bag, then up at each other and came to a conclusion.

They'd call Artie back after they left the club.

* * *

><p>Comments, pretty please?<p> 


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